I had a professor who frequently reminded us about TANSTAAFL— which stands for There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. She was saying that you shouldn’t expect to get something for nothing.
I make my living—or at least part of it—by speaking. I’m continually amazed at people who know this…but still ask me to speak for free. More than once, I’ve been told “It’s an honor and a privilege to be asked to speak to our group, so you should be more than happy to waive your fee.”
Now, I fully recognize that I’m not unique in what I do and I am honored to be asked. However, think of it this way: the next time you gas up your car, would you tell the owner “You should be honored that I chose your station over the one across the street, so I’m not going to pay”?
I put a lot of time and effort into each social media presentation I give. I make sure my facts and statistics are current, I research the organization I’m presenting to and I personalize my presentation. I sometimes spend a full day (or more) working on a presentation, so why would anyone think I’d be “happy” to do this for free?
While cold, hard cash is great, it’s not the only option for compensating a speaker. Obviously, there are groups that simply don’t have a budget to pay for speakers. However, if the organization has business members, it’s a great way to promote their members by offering the speaker a gift certificate from one (or more) of them.
Another option for membership organizations is to offer the speaker a reduced membership (or even a free one!) or discounts on future programs. By doing this, they are promoting their own organization.
Service organizations like Rotary and Kiwanis are also groups that typically don’t have budgets to pay speakers. However, these groups often support some type of charity. If they offer to make a donation to that charity in my name in exchange for speaking, I’m a happy camper!
Mack Collier had a great blog post about not speaking for free. He points out that it’s truly bad form for an organization to use his name and presentation to sell tickets, make a profit, and still expect him to speak for free. I feel the same way.
There are certainly times when I waive or reduce my fee. However, just don’t assume that I will—especially if I’m a member of your organization, or worse, a friend! Please give me the opportunity to have a discussion with you so we both end up happy.
OK, I’m jumping off my soapbox now, but the next time you contact a speaker for your group, I hope you’ll remember this post. If you’re a speaker, how do you handle situations when you’re asked to waive your fee?
Well said. As a speaker I also get a lot of request for “free speaking”. I have used all of your tips and they have worked. The last time I spoke for free was as a keynote speaker; however, the organization promoted the heck out of me (getting me another paid gig), also gave me professional photo shots (that I’ll be uploading to my website) and gift certificates for local book store (a great gift to a speaker; since we are always reading the latest and greatest).
Last year I spoke for free at another organization that provided me with the opportunity to “try-out” for a potential annual fixed gig. Well I got it and now I have 3 standing well paid gigs on an annual basis.
Basically, a speaker needs to realize that cash is NOT the only method of payment. It is time to sharpen up those negotiation skills and think out of box for other payment alternatives.
What great results, Elizabeth!
I totally agree that what is critical is for BOTH sides to be open to negotiations. You want it to be a win-win for all involved. I’ve seen speakers who totally refused to budge on their fees…and lost out on some great opportunities. I’ve also known organizations who said “free or nothing” and lost out on many good presenters.
This also happens to those of us who do social media management for a living. Now, when someone seems appalled that I would charge for my services, I let them know that I have put everything they need to get started in one convenient place on my website — and it’s all free!
Then I feel like I’ve given them what they wanted: something free. And if they take me up on my offer to use the free resources, it becomes clear to them why I charge for my services and I don’t have to defend myself. Another way to get to the win-win.
Debi that’s a great way to position your services! You can get started for free by following my advice/instruction on my blog, but if you want to take it to the next level, you need to hire me. Love that!
Debi – great solution!
Hey Deborah! Great post, and I loved how Elizabeth got creative in getting compensation for her speaking that wasn’t ‘cold hard cash’, but that still benefited her. Great thinking!
On average, I spend about 30 hours preparing presentation materials, and rehearsing the session. I think most event organizers view it as you only being on stage for an hour or so, so you should be able to do that for free. And I’m sure they feel that the chance to get exposure to ‘hundreds of potential clients’, will be fair compensation for an ‘hour’s worth of work’.
Sadly, our reality isn’t their’s! Thanks again for the mention!
Mack – First, I love your blog and was happy to give it a shout-out!
I always chuckle at the folks who assume I’ll get a whole bunch of new clients from my “free” presentations. Granted, I have gained some, but not enough to make up for the hours I put into each presentation.
I also had one who responded “but I thought you loved what you do” when I told her I did’t speak for free. My response: “I do love it…but I am also fond of eating and that doesn’t come free either!”
Thanks for your input!
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